'A Monster Calls (2017)' is the kind of 'fantasy as allegory' that's so often made all the less ambiguous, one way or the other, precisely because of its format. Film isn't quite able to achieve the kind of unspoken uncertainty that novels often inherently carry, considering the all-encompassing perspective of written fist-person narratives, but not every story is meant to work both literally and figuratively - though many often do and I can't speak to the intentions of the source-material (which I haven't read). My point is that some material perhaps has more impact if it makes itself as definitive as possible. Such is the case with this feature, which never really has any pretences about its more outlandish elements and always frames them as the coping mechanisms of a child - though the occasionally more tangible moment does break this illusion somewhat. While the stranger elements perhaps don't work as well as they would have in a piece totally told from the perspective of our unreliable narrator of a protagonist, the film comes together to tell a tale as old as time in a distinct way that actually allows it to be widely accessible and incredibly emotionally resonant, to boot. 7/10

At first i thought meh, cliché story, bullied boy escapes his reality into fantasie. But that's partially true, the further into the movie the more i felt his emotions. When the third story had been told and seeks out his mom, i cracked, i cracked even more when he had to tell the monster the fourth story about "his truth" It messed with my feelings completely. I liked the ending very much, it had closure, no guessing, no open ending, everything felt in place. Well done.The cgi was good, the storyline was good. You see that this boy struggles to coop with the reality.

I liked it. Acting was well done and the story was fine, too .. but a little stereotypical. I had expected a darker tone though .. and was periodically a little bored.To me, it felt like a very, very silent, slow movie .. with very predictable storyline. I particularly liked Sigourny weavers performance.Maybe i did not quite enjoy it as much as it deserves, cause my friend was constantly complaining about not watching a "real horror" movie.The effects were .. well.. not very good though.. it felt like there were comprable cutscene effects in some video games - and the CGI did not blend in with the live action well.

Conor is experiencing the worst time that has fallen to his share in childhood - the gradual extinction of the life of the most beloved and dearest person in the world - Mom. In an attempt to save himself from the pain of loss, which he is already capable of exposing to reality in a dream, Conor calls on the Monster, who will tell him three stories in return for a story he tells the young man himself.This tragic film is not a fairy tale told to children at night and, moreover, an entertaining film designed to cheer up the audience with bright scenes and merry moments. " A Monster Calls" - an instructive drama that raises an uneasy and very painful topic for each of us - the loss of a loved one. In this drama, fantasy is intertwined with reality, leaving a deep space for reflection and a sad mood.Probably, in all cases, children with a rich imagination do not remember their childhood well. Games like representing ourselves as a superhero or a character endowed with superhuman abilities allowed us to feel somewhere inside a force aimed at helping to overcome simple life troubles - to "surrender" the abuser in school or to destroy something dear to the person you hate. But Conor's rich imagination allowed the Monster to be called in the form of an alive trunk of an ancient yew. However, the Monster does not appear to be the monster we meet in Hollywood movies, but a wise mentor sent from above to help overcome the boy's tragedy.This film is worth watching in complete solitude, alone with your thoughts and emotions. One of those rare examples in our days, when the hard heart and soul is to stay away from the "Voice of the Monster" with criticism of unnecessary dramatization of events. The film is full of sad but useful emotions and feelings that I want to experience to all those rare people with a sensitive soul who understand that nothing and no one in this world is forever.